Accused CEO killer Luigi Mangione back in court as lawyers aim to dismiss key evidence

NEW YORK (TNND) — Accused CEO killer Luigi Mangione will return to a courtroom in New York on Monday as his lawyers continue to try to dismiss evidence in the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

Mangione’s pretrial hearing was postponed on Friday after he called in sick.

Prosecutors allege Mangione shot and killed Thompson on Dec. 4, 2024, outside a Manhattan hotel. The hearings are only related to the state charges against him.

Attorney General Pam Bondi directed federal prosecutors in April to seek the death penalty against Mangione. The next hearing in the federal case is scheduled for Jan. 9.

The 27-year-old has pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of murder, including murder as an act of terrorism, and is being held in a Brooklyn federal jail. The terrorism charges were dismissed in September by a New York judge, but Mangione is still charged with second-degree murder.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office released new photo evidence over the weekend, including a handwritten note found on him when he was arrested at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s and a pocket knife with zip ties. Images also showed the clothing Mangione wore, including black gloves, a beanie and a face mask.

Items Mangione had on him at the time of his arrest (Manhattan DA){ }

The cryptic handwritten note has the dates Dec. 8 and 9 with the words “Best Buy,” “USB,” “digital cam,” and “light source” crossed out.

Mangione’s lawyers are seeking to exclude evidence found in his backpack when he was arrested at the McDonald’s five days after the shooting. A 9mm handgun and a journal were among the items found.

Prosecutors said the handgun in his backpack matched the one used in the deadly shooting and the writings in the notebook explained his disdain for health insurers.

He was taken into custody after a manager called 911 when customers became concerned.

“It’s not really an emergency,” she is heard saying the call. “I have a customer here that some other customers were suspicious of, that he looked like the CEO shooter in New York. So they’re just really upset, and they’re coming to me, and I’m like, I can’t really approach him.”